Alfred Brendel, world-famous among great pianists, dared to say that this Beethoven masterpiece is the "greatest of all piano works''. Houstoun does not argue with him in the accompanying booklet, although he nods to Bach's immortal Goldberg Variations as a possible contestant. Each variation refers to the waltz or part of it and seems to follow logically from the one before. It will be fondly recalled that the ambitious NZ label Rattle released his large boxed set of 14 CDs in 2014, where he played all 32 of Beethoven's Sonatas. News flash: During 2017 Houstoun will perform and record the complete Beethoven violin sonatas with violinist Bella Hristova.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 25, 2017 06:11 UTC